Transbay Terminal In San Francisco Closed Abruptly After Cracks Appear In Beams

The abrupt closure of the $2.2 billion Transbay Terminal at San Francisco left commuters in shock. With over 170,000 visitors in town for the yearly convention hosted by cloud-computing giant Salesforce, with Salesforce opening a building right next to the transit center, the timing could not have been worse.

A crowd of people crossing 4th Street at Howard Street while the Dreamforce conference is hosted by Salesforce in San Francisco
Photo: The Chronicle

The sudden closure caused confusion amongst commuters. Some commuters were still inside the transit center waiting for their buses when they were told to leave.  The center was closed after a cracked steel beam supporting the rooftop garden at Transit Center was discovered.

The multibillion-dollar transit complex will remain closed the next week as well due to the discovery of a second crack after the overnight inspection of the facility post-discovery of the first crack.

The San Francisco Chronicle said that the second crack was found on an adjacent beam to the first one but was “less severe” than the first one.

Commuters wait at the temporary terminal after the closure of the Transbay transit center.
Photo: Eric Risberg

Officials with the Transbay Joint Powers Authority still haven’t managed to come to a conclusion regarding the cause of the cracks. The Fremont Street will remain closed next week while investigations are underway.

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